Christine Jalleh

Actually, that was the initial title for my article in the The Star’s “Mind Our English” column but it’s such a clichéd phrase, I decided to go for Foodalicious Phrases (I have a penchant for alliteration and assonance).

In the end, the editor decided on The Whole Enchilada, which is fine by me

I looked through my photo archives for a juicy, mouth-watering shot of an enchilada but couldn’t find any. It’s one of my favourite foods – I must remember to take a shot the next time BEFORE I eat it!

Here’s one taken from PreparednessPro (an interesting blog about being prepared for anything!)

Read on…

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There is a wealth of food-related phrases that add flavour to the English language.

WITH ayam percik, roti jala, nasi kerabu, ikan bakar, lotus paste mooncakes with golden egg yolks, murukku, vadai, laddu, thosai with tomato chutney still fresh on my tastebuds (and thoughts), various food-related phrases come to my mind.

The English language has sprinkles and dashes of foodie phrases which may or may not be related to food at all. As a firm believer in a balanced diet, I would like to share with readers some morsels (or metaphors) for you to chew on.

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A while ago, MiszSensei, an English lecturer from KPTM – Kolej Poly-Tech MARA, asked me the above question, which is on the perfect tenses. I understand her situation because my own students used to be puzzled by this as well

I’d like to refer her to “Wren & Martin’s High School English Grammar and Composition”* (an oldie but goodie which I’d used in my English classes for grammar discussion).

“Has had” is in the Present Perfect Tense, which is used:

1. To indicate completed activities in the immediate past e.g.:

- He has just gone out.

- It has just struck ten.

2. To express past actions whose time is not given and not definite; e.g.:

- Have you read ‘Gulliver’s Travels’?

- Mr. Hari has been to Japan (Note: We are not informed of the exact date he visited the country.)

3. To describe past events when we think more of their effect in the present than of the action itself e.g.:

- I have cut my finger (and it is bleeding now.)

- I have finished my work (= now I am free).

4. To denote an action beginning at some time inthe past and continuing up to the present moment, e.g.:

- I have known him for a long time.

- We have lived here for ten years.

The examples above from Wren & Martin clearly explain the use of the Present Perfect Tense. Students need to remember that the clause “has had” is made up of 2 verbs, similar to the examples above:

- She has had her breakfast.

- I have had enough of your nonsense!

- We have had too many durians.

“Had had” is in the Past Perfect Tense, which is used in these 2 situations:

1. To describe an action completed before a certain moment in the past or

2. If two actions happened in the past, it may be necessary to show which action happened earlier than the other.

For example:

- I met him in New Delhi in 1970. I had seen him last five years before.

- When I reached the station, the train had started.

- I had written the letter before he arrived.

Here are some examples of “had had” in use from the BBC World Service | Learn English site:

- After he’d had a good night’s sleep, he felt much better.

- She sacked him before he had had a chance to explain his behaviour.

- By the time he was twenty he’d already had four different jobs.

- If I hadn’t had a good education, I would never have got this job.

- If she had had children later in life, she would have been a better mother.

- If I’d had another ten minutes, I would’ve finished the examination paper.

I apologize for the late response and hope that you will still find this useful!

This humourous poem about the the inconsistencies in English grammar and vocabulary has to be one of the most forwarded emails.

While it pokes fun at English and the English, the poem also captures the frustrations a student faces in the process of learning English as a foreign or second language.

Does anyone have the answer to the question: “If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?” Enjoy!

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

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